


By the Lakeside

by What the Hoechlin (musicofthespheres)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Laura Hale - Freeform, M/M, Mama Stilinski Feels, bros, hale feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-14
Updated: 2012-09-14
Packaged: 2017-11-14 05:15:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicofthespheres/pseuds/What%20the%20Hoechlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every year, Stiles spends the anniversary of his mother's death alone by the lakeside. This year, an unexpected visitor shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Lakeside

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reynebowbridge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reynebowbridge/gifts).



The lake is eerie at this hour of the morning. Though the sun has not yet risen, mist hovers lazily just a foot off the ground. Stiles pulls his jacket a little tighter as he carefully makes his way down the dock.  
It is the anniversary of her death, and it is a day he chooses to spend alone. The sheriff will mourn in his own way so Stiles does not have to worry about being there for his father.  
The sun will rise in half an hour, so the night has already begun receding slowly. 

Stiles doesn't believe in an after life. He looks down at the water once he reaches the end, sees a faint reflection in the dim light. He sits.  
He doesn't believe in the after life, so when he starts talking aloud to her it's for his benefit.  
"Hey, mom. I still miss you. I'm still trying hard to look after dad, like you always did. He needs someone, you know? I can't be there for him all the time. You see, and you'll never believe this... in the past year a lot of crazy stuff has happened. Did you know that werewolves are real? They're real, and Scott got bit by one. There are others, too. They're always getting into all sorts of trouble and I'm right in the middle of it and I think it's worrying the hell out of dad because he doesn't know what's going on." He takes a shuddering breath. He swears to himself that it's because he's freezing cold. It's late autumn and any semblance of summer warmth has disappeared for the year.  
"I hate lying to him."  
He goes quiet after that. Sits for an hour, maybe two. He doesn't quite know. If he were a wolf he'd let out a mournful, lonesome howl. 

"You know," Stiles finally whispers to the water. "I've thought about ending it all. But I can't leave dad. Scott would cope, he's got Isaac... but I think it would destroy dad." A tear falls on the wood beneath him. "I just get so hopeless sometimes. And now I know that monsters exist... not just wolves. These weird lizard things called kanimas exist, too. They're terrifying. But now that I know that they exist... this world seems so much more terrifying. If it weren't for dad, I think I might join you." 

The sun has risen above the trees by now. The air is still chilly, though. Stiles intends to spend the whole day here; it's the quietest place he knows. He swears as he realizes that he left his book in the jeep. No one will show up here today. He leaves the blanket and bag of snacks he brought on the dock and begins the ten-minute trek back to the road. 

When Stiles returns, he senses that something isn't quite right. He is not alone.  
He walks to the shore of the lake and that's when he sees the problem: a black-clad figure at the end of the dock where he had previously been sitting.  
"Hello?" Stiles called out. He's a little mad, because hey, _that's his stuff_ , but the figure doesn't respond. He looks around for something to use as a weapon in case he needs to, but there's only a branch laying half-way in the water on the shore. He grips it firmly in hand and walks cautiously toward the intruder.  
"Dude, seriously," he tries again. "What are you doing here?" He's closer now and the person - definitely a guy, with a build like that - sighs visibly and audibly.  
And then he stands and turns around. Stiles is taken aback - literally moving back two or three steps - when he sees who it is. 

"Derek?" Stiles' face is incredulous. Seriously, _not_ the person he was expecting. Well, he wasn't expecting anyone. But if he were, that person would not be Derek Hale. Whose face remains stony as ever.  
"Why are you here?" Stiles asks.  
"I'm sorry," Derek apologizes instead of answering. "I shouldn't have come." He goes to move past Stiles but is stopped by an arm across his torso.  
"Nuh-uh. You're not leaving until you tell me why you're here. At a lake. In the middle of nowhere." Stiles knows that he's treading a thin line, challenging the Alpha like that, but he doesn't care. This is the day he spends alone to remember the woman who gave birth to him. No one gets in the way of that.  
Derek fixes him in a stare that is meant to be fear-inspiring, but Stiles is mad and is has no effect on him.  
"I said I'm sorry," Derek says and tries to move forward again. Stiles holds his ground. When he speaks, his voice is threatening.  
"This is the fifth anniversary of my mother's death. This lake is my special place to come on this day every year. _Why are you here._ "  
"I sensed your distress. I wanted to make sure you were alright."  
Stiles nods. He moves his arm away from Derek, and holy crap he just challenged the Alpha's authority and didn't get his limbs torn off. He stalks off and is barely five steps away before Stiles turns.  
"I'm sorry, too," he says quietly. "I know you've lost so much more than I have. Come sit with me." He mentally slaps himself because, really? Derek Hale. Alpha. Grouch. Hates Stiles with every fibre of his being. He expects to be brushed off like usual. Today is not a day for fulfilled expectations.

"Want a snack?" Stiles asks awkwardly once they're seated. He's brought granola bars, mostly. A couple of bottles of water. Derek lifts an eyebrow but declines the offer.  
The mist rises even higher with the sun, and soon Stiles can't see the other shore.  
"I usually sit here and talk to mom all day. I don't think she can hear me, though," he divulges after a few moments of silence. He doesn't do the whole not-talking thing very well in the presence of another person. He also doesn't know why he's sharing that particular detail. He's never told anyone what he does on this particular day every year. Scott accepts Stiles' day-long disappearance without a word. The Sheriff is usually too drunk to notice that his son is absent. 

"It'll have been a year in a few weeks," Derek confessed quietly.  
Stiles thinks momentarily. Not the Hale fire, he doesn't think.  
"Laura?"  
Derek nods.  
"I'm sorry."  
Derek nods again. Stiles risks a peek at him and what he sees nearly brings forth the tears that have been threatening to show up all morning. There is pure pain on the Alpha's face. The devastation is as evident now as it likely must have been when he first found out about his sister's death. Stiles just wants to hug him.  
So he does.  
And isn't thrown halfway across the lake.  
Derek just kind of... sits there. He's startled, yes, but the suddenness of the action shocks him into stillness. And, after a moment, he relaxes. Leans against Stiles. Stiles knows it's because Derek is not the only vulnerable one right now. He's not the only one who's hurting. 

Derek takes in a shaky breath and puts his head on Stiles' shoulder. "I'm sorry about your mom," he mumbles.  
"I'm sorry about your sister." Stiles rubs Derek's arm consolingly. He's pretty sure that the Alpha has never let anyone see him like this, and will never let anyone see him like this again. 

So there they sit, the boy and the werewolf. Tears run down their faces for those they have lost. On a shivery morning in late October they share a bond and an embrace, and then they go their separate ways until their paths must cross again.


End file.
